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It was close, but certified pre-owned-vehicle sales set a record again last year for the 7th straight time. How close was it? Autodata Corp. estimates 2,645,718 CPO vehicles were sold in 2017 and 2,642,986 in 2016, just a 0.1-percent gain. The margin was small in part because December, historically a great month for CPO sales, was down almost five percent.

Autodata says even with 2017 ending in a bit of a whimper, 12 automakers had record years: BMW, Cadillac, Fiat/Chrysler, Honda, Infiniti, Land Rover, Maserati, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche and Subaru.

Meanwhile Automotive News says used-vehicle values are on the rise along with sales. In fact prices outperformed last year’s expectations even though the number of cars coming off lease continues to rise – it’s nearly tripled since 2012. CPO’s sales rise contributes to the prices rising. The vehicles are inspected and reconditioned if necessary, and carry a factory warranty. Completing those tasks costs money, boosting the used-vehicles’ prices.

Automotive News also says that as the number of off-lease vehicles continues going up, expect 2018 to be the most truck-heavy year yet. That makes sense: Leases originating in 2015 are ending this year and include more trucks and crossovers. Something like 3.9 million light vehicles are expected to come off lease this year, about 300,000 more than last year.